The Notorious DIY Laptop

[jtabb1256]

I have a part list put together: http/pcpartpicker.com/p/4RpDdC
I also have a 3D CAD drawing of it.

In the drawing, in the case of the laptop, there are 5 80mm fans, which is really ambitious. In reality, I'd only have 1 or 2, but I'm not sure the best place for them. The drawing has the laptop at about 2 inches thick when it is folded. The drawing is somewhat accurate (almost completely accurate in height), but not accurate enough to 3d print the parts, although it wouldn't be too hard to make it printable. I made it in 123D Design.

Also, if I do actually build this, i will build it with the cheap parts that are in the list. If it works, I'll make another one with a nice motherboard with an i7, add a pcie extension and have a graphics card in the void in the right with the fan facing the bottom of the case.

https/www.dropbox.com/sh/trj4iqcd51rixll/AAB0h4QKv4oBxfnT1Ic_JJQga?dl=0

That is a link to my Cad file that you will have to use 123D Design to open. 123D Design is free, and this is the easiest way I could find of sharing it. I tried many ways to get it into pdf form, but it couldn't keep the color.

 

[speige]

jtabb,

I really like where you're going with this. I'd like to help, if possible.

It seems like 3D printing would allow you to create a custom enclosure that matches your exact specifications. Obviously the cost of a home printer is prohibitive, but borrowing a printer seems possible. It seems like the printing itself should be relatively cheap. Maybe $10 or less for the actual plastic. But, the biggest printers I've seen max at 12" cube. Which is just a couple inches too small for a standard 15" laptop.... Maybe paying a commercial 3d printing company is a better option? Have you researched commercial 3d printing services at all?

Some issues I see with the 3D printing is ensuring the printed materials can withstand the heat dissipated by the cpu, & that the plastic isn't flimsy/etc, since it'll be carried around a lot.

Your 123D Design images look awesome. I've never 3d printed anything. What would it take to modify these so they can be printed? For a more professional looking laptop, it might make sense to round the corner edges, etc, but overall it looks awesome!

I've been going through your parts list. It's awesome, because I wasn't sure where to find some of the parts, like the touchpad.

Since your post is a few months old, maybe some of the parts list should be updated.

For example, I wonder about swapping it for a back-lit keyboard?

Also, LGA 1151 would give more performance with less heat. It's hard to find a "Thin" Mini-ITX. I did find GA-H170TN
http/www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5651#ov but I haven't seen it for sale anywhere.

What about internal speakers?
DVD drive?
battery?

Also, I wonder if a closed-loop water cooling system would work better than a fan? I'm nervous that using desktop parts will create too much heat for air-cooling and a high-powered fan might create a ton of noise.

The other option I've wondered about is buying a $150 laptop for black friday for the enclosure/keyboard/mousepad/dvd/battery & swapping out the rest. The parts I keep would make it worth the $150. I'd also keep the LCD except the laptops in the $150 range are only 720P. If I used an enclosure from an $150 laptop, the extension cables you found would come in handy, because you could put the motherboard in the center of the enclosure & use cables to put the ports wherever the enclosure has holes so you don't have to dremel new ones.

I know you're planning on using a cheap cpu as a test & swapping it out with a nicer one if all goes well. Some people have said after finishing their DIY laptop it was more expensive that it was worth. However, it seems like a powerhouse laptop could be built for ~ $1000. When I've looked at other laptops in the $1000 range they still seem quite underpowered compared to what you could do with DIY. In fact, when I've put similar specs into websites that build fully-custom laptops they've charged $2000-$3000.


I know for me it feels like there are too many hard problems to solve that it's easy to give up before starting. Especially when it could become an expensive mistake. Maybe we need to get a group together to all build these together. For example, design the enclosure together & build 10 of them instead of 1. Putting our heads together might make an overall better laptop & future DIY could build upon it.

Thoughts?

 

[jtabb1256]

jtabb,

I really like where you're going with this. I'd like to help, if possible.

It seems like 3D printing would allow you to create a custom enclosure that matches your exact specifications. Obviously the cost of a home printer is prohibitive, but borrowing a printer seems possible. It seems like the printing itself should be relatively cheap. Maybe $10 or less for the actual plastic. But, the biggest printers I've seen max at 12" cube. Which is just a couple inches too small for a standard 15" laptop.... Maybe paying a commercial 3d printing company is a better option? Have you researched commercial 3d printing services at all?

Some issues I see with the 3D printing is ensuring the printed materials can withstand the heat dissipated by the cpu, & that the plastic isn't flimsy/etc, since it'll be carried around a lot.

Your 123D Design images look awesome. I've never 3d printed anything. What would it take to modify these so they can be printed? For a more professional looking laptop, it might make sense to round the corner edges, etc, but overall it looks awesome!

I've been going through your parts list. It's awesome, because I wasn't sure where to find some of the parts, like the touchpad.

Since your post is a few months old, maybe some of the parts list should be updated.

For example, I wonder about swapping it for a back-lit keyboard?

Also, LGA 1151 would give more performance with less heat. It's hard to find a "Thin" Mini-ITX. I did find GA-H170TN
http/www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5651#ov but I haven't seen it for sale anywhere.

What about internal speakers?
DVD drive?
battery?

Also, I wonder if a closed-loop water cooling system would work better than a fan? I'm nervous that using desktop parts will create too much heat for air-cooling and a high-powered fan might create a ton of noise.

The other option I've wondered about is buying a $150 laptop for black friday for the enclosure/keyboard/mousepad/dvd/battery & swapping out the rest. The parts I keep would make it worth the $150. I'd also keep the LCD except the laptops in the $150 range are only 720P. If I used an enclosure from an $150 laptop, the extension cables you found would come in handy, because you could put the motherboard in the center of the enclosure & use cables to put the ports wherever the enclosure has holes so you don't have to dremel new ones.

I know you're planning on using a cheap cpu as a test & swapping it out with a nicer one if all goes well. Some people have said after finishing their DIY laptop it was more expensive that it was worth. However, it seems like a powerhouse laptop could be built for ~ $1000. When I've looked at other laptops in the $1000 range they still seem quite underpowered compared to what you could do with DIY. In fact, when I've put similar specs into websites that build fully-custom laptops they've charged $2000-$3000.


I know for me it feels like there are too many hard problems to solve that it's easy to give up before starting. Especially when it could become an expensive mistake. Maybe we need to get a group together to all build these together. For example, design the enclosure together & build 10 of them instead of 1. Putting our heads together might make an overall better laptop & future DIY could build upon it.

Thoughts?

Link to more recent thread:
http/www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2719167/diy-laptop-concept.html

I'm very glad that you're on board with this! The reason I posted it was to see if anyone had ideas / could help / etc.

I have researched commercial 3D printing services, and it is possible to 3D print something this big. I think we would use ABS plastic instead of PLA because it is more rigid and better at higher temps.

Thanks about the 123D design. It was my first time using some kind of CAD program.

I was considering going with skylake and saw the same motherboard, but nowhere to buy it. My goal with this first prototype is to make it functional, while keeping costs down as much as possible. THEN I would consider actually making one that is powerful and more expensive. It may actually be possible to have a full size graphics card in it.
The gap where this card could go is also where the optical drive could go. Adding an optical drive wouldn't be hard at all.

Internal speakers are surprisingly hard to find, but we could maybe use some speakers from model train DCC sound-card suppliers.

The battery and its respective charging system is the most difficult part. I have decided that we would have to design our own charging circuit to decide to use battery or wall and when to charge battery

Maybe battery from here: http/www.epectec.com/batteries/

When plugged in, run off of wall power and charge battery if it needs to, otherwise don't charge battery.
When unplugged, switch to battery. This means there needs to be a fairly large capacitor in here
so that when the wall power is unplugged, the transition to battery power is smooth.

There is a project named pi-top and they probably had to go through many of the things we are thinking through. It is probably worth it to contact them.

Don't bother buying a laptop. Maybe buy a pi-top.
Its keyboard and mouse and other things will be proprietary.
One of the objectives with this DIY laptop is to show that it is possible and to create a demand so that there will be some standardization so that people can have customization.
A keyboard designed for a laptop will not work. We will have to use a USB keyboard.
Also, the enclosure would probably be too thin. Maybe a laptop enclosure from the 80s would work LOL


I am really interested in this project, but don't have the time.
I go to a very demanding high school and am currently swamped in college apps, homework, and projects. Finals are coming up, too. Most of my time that I spend designing and building right now is going toward my FTC team. This project will be on my backburner until Summer.

If you are looking for parts, note their dimensions in millimeters so we can 3D design them more easily.

I'll paste in some newer research I've done here:

Parts and their sizes:
All Dimensions in millimeters. (L X W X H)
All Weight in Grams.
1. CPU:
a. Cheap Low-power Intel processor
b. Celeron, Pentium, etc.
c. http/pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646g1840
d. Dimensions: 36 X 36 X 5
e. Weight:
f. For Skylake: http/pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80662g4400
2. CPU Cooler:
a. Super thin 1U server CPU Cooler for Intel Socket
b. http/www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product/cpu.product.tpl&no=181&type=CPU%20coolers&type_sub=Low%20Profile&model=AK-CC7129BP01
c. Dimensions: 85.2 X 87.2 X 21
d. Weight: 154 g
e. OR
f. http/www.staples.com/Intel-BXHTS1155LP-Cooling-Fan-Heatsink/product_IM1NA4017
g. Dimensions: X X 26
3. Intake Fan:
a. Hopefully Not Necessary
b. http/www.frozencpu.com/products/21917/fan-569/Scythe_Slip_Stream_120mm_x_12mm_Fan_-_1600_RPM_SY1212SL12M.html
c. Dimensions: 120 X 120 X 12
d. Weight:
4. RAM:
a. SODIMM (Laptop RAM)
b. http/www.amazon.com/dp/B00KQCOSLY/?tag=pcpapi-20
c. Dimensions: 94.996 X 45.72 X 7.62
5. SSD:
a. Something like the Samsung 850 Evo that I can use in a normal computer if this fails
b. http/pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz75e250bam
c. Dimensions: 100 X 69.85 X 6.86
d. Weight: 40.82
6. MOBO:
a. Cheap Thin Mini ITX
b. http/pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-h81tcsm
c. Dimensions: 170 X 170 X < 25mm
d. Weight:
e. Thin-Mini ITX Intel Skylake
f. http/www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=5651#ov
7. GPU:
a. Dedicated with riser and external power source
i. GTX 960
ii. http/www.amazon.com/dp/B00WJOU6RM/?tag=pcpapi-20
iii. Dimension: 264.16 X 121.92 X 38.1
iv. Weight: 1315.42
b. OR
c. MXM:
i. NOT OPEN TO NON-SUPPLIERS, so a No-go
8. LCD:
a. “Replacement Screen”
b. https/www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/Dell/ALIENWARE~15/
c. 345.44 X 193.04 X h
9. Keyboard:
a. Super Thin Backlit USB Keyboard
b. http/www.amazon.com/GMYLE%C2%AE-Ultra-Thin-Wired-Keyboard/dp/B003PHJJV6
c. Need USB Conversion Cable or manually rewire it to USB 2.0 header
d. Dimensions: 285 X 120 X 4.0
e. Weight: 258
10. Mousepad:
a. Super Thin Mousepad
b. http/www.amazon.com/Ergonomic-Touchpad/dp/B001OO0LXC
c. http/www.ergonomictouchpad.com/ergonomic_touchpad.php
d. And USB Converter Cable Or manually rewiring to USB 2.0 Header
e. Dimensions: 65 X 49 X (Slope 6 to 10) = 65 X 49 X 10
f. Weight: 85
11. Wireless Internet / Bluetooth Card (DON’T WORRY ABOUT THIS FOR NOW)
a. Does it have to be half Mini PCI ?
b. http/www.amazon.com/dp/B0038A9HSK/?tag=pcpapi-20
c. Dimensions:
d. Weight: 8.5
e. Antenna:
f. http/www.amazon.com/Laptop-Wireless-PCI-E-Internal-Antenna/dp/B004ZHT2JE/ref=pd_sim_147_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=41kOqwSQNeL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0J87QHGA6H8JWYZ82Q2X
12. Power Button:
13. Speaker:
14. Battery:
a. Custom LiPO battery
b.
15. Charging Circuit (To decide to use battery or wall and when to charge battery)
a. When charging battery, run off of wall power
b. When plugged in, run off of wall power.
i. Need to have large capacitor so that when the wall power is unplugged, the transition to battery power is smooth
c. Need to have mechanical switch or extra power input for discrete graphics card
16. Charger (Power Supply):
17. Base of Laptop:
a. CNC Aluminum
b. OR
c. 3D Print ABS
18. Lid of Laptop:
a. CNC Aluminum
b. OR
c. 3D Print ABS
 

Help with Design:
• https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYMz9-iE3zg
THIS VIDEO IS A PHONY, BUT
o Note The Structure and how the proprietary parts are designed and go together. Useful for forming concepts of how to assemble our laptop.
o

 

[speige]

I understand being too busy to work on things, I have the same issues

I like the idea of creating some standardization so that others could follow in our footsteps. If we could solve the tough problems, we could turn it into an entreprenurial venture. I understand what you mean about needing USB devices. I have 5-10 old laptops lying around my house that i've taken apart & put back together a few times. They all have different connections than will fit a normal motherboard.

I like the new keyboard you've found. The touchpad you're showing doesn't seem to have buttons ? Although the same company does sell them with buttons....

I'm not sure about putting a full-blown video card makes sense. The integrated gpu should be good enough to play most games at low settings. I guess if the whole point of building a custom laptop is to make it a powerhouse, then the discrete card makes sense, but I'm afraid it'll create too much heat and draw too much power. I'm not hoping for 12 hours of battery life or anything, but at least an hour would be nice When I play a video game, I like to play games on my desktop anyways because I feel like I play so much worse on my laptop due to the cramped keyboard/etc, but having a bluetooth mouse instead of the touchpad helps a lot.

We should send your cad designs to a commercial printing company and see what they would charge to print the enclosure/etc. From a quick google search I'm nervous that commercial printing might be too expensive. I wonder if creating a sillicone mould and melting plastic/metal into it would be cheaper? Also, the quality & strength might be better using a mould & would open up more choices in materials.

 

[speige]

I like how small the AK-CC7129BP01 is, but BXHTS1155LP seems like it might maintain a lower temperature and direct the exhaust out the case better.

Will the LVDS connection on the motherboard fit the 30-pin on the LCD screen?

A 4K screen sounds like an interesting idea, I've found a few on laptopscreen.com for example http/www.laptopscreen.com/English/screen-part-number/LTN156FL02/ but, everything i've found is "out of stock". Also, I think 4K uses a 40-pin connection. http/www.panelook.com/ looks like another potential vendor. For example: http/www.panelook.com/LC840EQD-SEM1_LG%20Display_84_LCM_overview_16898.html

Don't laptop screens generally have a back-light? Will the LVDS connector power the backlight as well?

The up-side to 4K is it's another cheap upgrade for a DIY, but an expensive purchase. However, it would reduce battery life. Also, I don't think games could be played at 4K even with a discrete gpu, so the user would need to remember to use low-resolution settings for games.

I personally don't know if I like touch-screens for a PC yet, but I guess we could research it. Phone/Tablet OSes are built for touch-screen, but PC OSes are easier to navigate with the keyboard.

I've found some thin USB speakers (1.5"), but they don't seem quite thin enough. For example: http/www.amazon.com/HP-NN109AA-ABA-Mini-Speakers/dp/B0027JLIVM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448850353&sr=8-2&keywords=tiny+usb+speakers

If we wanted to go liquid-cooled for a quieter fan and less heat, this is an option: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010
Being closed-loop, it should be relatively safe. But, air-cooling may be a better option considering a laptop is moved around a lot. Also, I can only imagine taking this through airport security & having it confiscated (but, being DIY that may happen anyways).

 

[jtabb1256]

I like how small the AK-CC7129BP01 is, but BXHTS1155LP seems like it might maintain a lower temperature and direct the exhaust out the case better.

Will the LVDS connection on the motherboard fit the 30-pin on the LCD screen?

A 4K screen sounds like an interesting idea, I've found a few on laptopscreen.com for example http/www.laptopscreen.com/English/screen-part-number/LTN156FL02/ but, everything i've found is "out of stock". Also, I think 4K uses a 40-pin connection. http/www.panelook.com/ looks like another potential vendor. For example: http/www.panelook.com/LC840EQD-SEM1_LG%20Display_84_LCM_overview_16898.html

Don't laptop screens generally have a back-light? Will the LVDS connector power the backlight as well?

The up-side to 4K is it's another cheap upgrade for a DIY, but an expensive purchase. However, it would reduce battery life. Also, I don't think games could be played at 4K even with a discrete gpu, so the user would need to remember to use low-resolution settings for games.

I personally don't know if I like touch-screens for a PC yet, but I guess we could research it. Phone/Tablet OSes are built for touch-screen, but PC OSes are easier to navigate with the keyboard.

I've found some thin USB speakers (1.5"), but they don't seem quite thin enough. For example: http/www.amazon.com/HP-NN109AA-ABA-Mini-Speakers/dp/B0027JLIVM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1448850353&sr=8-2&keywords=tiny+usb+speakers

If we wanted to go liquid-cooled for a quieter fan and less heat, this is an option: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010
Being closed-loop, it should be relatively safe. But, air-cooling may be a better option considering a laptop is moved around a lot. Also, I can only imagine taking this through airport security & having it confiscated (but, being DIY that may happen anyways).

Haha. Well I'm thinking of using a cheap screen and other cheap parts for the initial prototype. Taking it slow and simple at first is normally the best thing to do in a situation like this.

 

[rudolfo1980]

So Im not the only one.
I want to make a laptop to.
Stole some of your idea's but made a few changes/upgrades.

What a great motherboard is the Gigabyte GA-H170TN
I figured out how to connect a MXM-B Graphic card to PCI express 4x.
And I can connect the output LVDS of this Graphic card to a LCD display.
Got all the datasheet's ready I will make a diagramm and make it available for you guys.
also you can find upgrade kits for these Graphic cards on ebay, amazon, taobao Or go to eurocom.

Currently working on the battery charger. Almost done. What a great motherboard, it can run on 12 to 19V so it can actually be powered by a battery which will drop voltage On depleting. If its done I will make it available for you guys.

Only problem is getting the battery states to the OS.
Im thinking of making a USB connection to a controller of communication.
But that would involve maybe a driver or with luck we can use USB HID protocal without a driver and just write a C programm and upload in into the controller that gets the info from the charger and sends it the the motherboard.

OR maybe stick to leds. With 4 cells in series you get 16.8V. The cells can go to 10V before becoming in danger. So the system will shut down before this because of low voltage.
Also thinking about putting a solar panel film on the lid. And put in 8 cells of 5000mA in 4S2P configuration so having a 10 Ah battery

Thinking about a 4K lcd screen of 15.6". So I hope to cram I all in a 380 x 260 x 30 mm case without the lid. The cpu heatsink is 26 mm thick so with the graphic card heatsink it will be the thickest parts

Thinking of getting the battery cells, Graphic card and lcd in china (taobao) (really cheap for like 2 dollar per battery cell, 75 dollar LCD and 250 for nVidia GeForce GTX 965M Upgrade Kit.
Its a bit risky but yeah... maybe get the cells first. If it goes well try for lcd and if that works out finally the Graphic card also.

The rest of my setup will be around 650 Euro's.

So i will have a system for just under 1000 bucks.

Then i have to get a caseing no idea what the cost will be.


MY setup.

Core i5-6600T 35W
Intel® BXHTS1155LP Cooling Fan/Heatsink
Kingston HyperX Impact HX316LS9IBK2/8
m.2 Samsung 950 Pro 256GB SDD
Gigabyte GA-H170TN
nVidia GeForce GTX 965M Upgrade Kit
Rapoo N7200 usb toestenboard
Rapoo Wireless Optical Mouse 3000p
Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265
Wireless Mini PCI PCI-E Internal Antenna
2 GB HDD for storage
4K LCD 15.6"

 

[speige]

rudolfo,

I've been researching this a bit recently as well.

I like the GA-H170TN as well, but haven't found it anywhere online for sale. Do you have a link to where you bought it from?

I think for the SSD we should use an mSATA or Mini-PCIe interface. I noticed they seem to have an even smaller profile. They are slightly more expensive though.

I also found some keyboards that have a build-in touchpad. They have a semi-awkward keyboard layout though.
http/www.adesso.com/products/product-detail-158.html
http/www.adesso.com/products/product-detail-210.html
http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823111038

These are the only speakers I've been able to find that are thin enough to fit into a laptop case:
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B00EK6OGLE
However, they're pretty wide and have extra unnecessary features like radio/sdCard
Another option might be to use the speakers out of a broken laptop, however the connection will probably be proprietary. I think it’d work if we cut the end of the wire & converted it to a headphone connector & plugged that into the motherboard.

I think some parts might be better to purchase directly from a manufacturer, if we can't find a small enough part on newegg/amazon. For example, I took apart one of my broken laptops & looked at the brand name on the speakers, it was http/www.zyluxacoustic.com Their website doesn't list specific products, but, maybe it's worth giving them a call & asking what they have. My only worry is they probably make them to-order & will want us to purchase 1,000 or something. However, the speakers in my broken laptop were tiny, probably 1/3 of the size of the smallest speaker I've found on Amazon. Maybe I'll look through the other parts we're having issues with and get a list of other manufacturers.

Here are some more random parts:

USB Headphone Jack
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B00IRVQ0F8

USB Hub
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B016KQ84EQ

DVD Drives
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B009X0FQNY
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B003AXW2YQ

BlueTooth Adapter
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B00FHNXK84

USB Wifi
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B011T5IF06

4K Screen
http/www.panelook.com/LC840EQD-SEM1_LG%20Display_84_LCM_overview_16898.html

CPU Cooler
http/www.staples.com/Intel-BXHTS1155LP-Cooling-Fan-Heatsink/product_IM1NA4017

I've researched a bit on building plastic molds. It looks like you can buy the chemicals at home depot. Basically you take apart a laptop, get liquid sillicon & pour it over the bare plastic laptop case and let it dry. Then, you peel away the sillicone & you have a mould. You can modify the mould with an exacto-knife/etc (cut out spot of usb port/etc. Next, you mix two different chemicals together to make liquid plastic, you pour it into the mould & let it dry. When it's all finished, you have a finished plastic product. It seems like it makes stronger plastic than a 3D printer. It sounds inexpensive as well. Youtube has a bunch of videos on it. Another benefit over 3D printing is home-printers can't do very large parts. However, a commercial company might be able to do a computer-automated injection mould based on your CAD design inexpensively as well.

I was thinking about a discrete graphics card. One thing I like about building a custom laptop is being able to use super-high-end parts. Those types of laptops are hard to find & expensive. Alienware charges $2000-$3000 for something you could build as a desktop for $1000. If we could solve the difficult problems, we could build a much cheaper version of Alienware. Using a high-end desktop discrete card would make sense for that reason.

Here are the parts I was hoping to use to plug the gpu into the motherboard (but, I don't think they'll work):

x4 to x16 adapter
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B004H5UKUE

Riser Cards
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B0058UVVX2
http/www.amazon.com/dp/B00CWGPY9M


The Thin Mini-ITX motherboards I've seen don't have an x16 PCIe slot, only an x4 (or Mini-PCIe). We need to run some benchmarks to see how much bandwidth a gpu needs. I've read online that a gpu doesn't max out all 16 lanes, but I'm not sure if 4 is enough. 8 is definitely enough because motherboards only have 16 shared between all devices, so SLI configurations only have 8 available per gpu, even if plugged into x16 slots.

I haven't found any Mini-PCIe to x16PCI-e adapters yet.

Also, the motherboards I've seen only give 25Watts of power to the PCIe. I think a discrete GPU will need 100Watt minimum, even for a mobile gpu.

Finally, the motherboard uses an LVDS port to connect to the LCD screen. The GPU will have its own HDMI output. I'm not certain if we'll need special drivers to teach the GPU to copy its data to the LVDS, but I don't think these motherboards are designed for a discrete GPU. Even if it works, it'll have to copy the data from fast GPU memory to slow CPU memory and have the CPU copy it to the LVDS. Even though that's not ideal, I think it'll be okay. I've read that AMD drivers are buggy/slow in copying the memory this way. Alienware bypassed that by building a custom multiplexor chip that connected the GPU directly to the LCD. However, nVidia GPUs don't seem to have this issue. Battery-life should be fine as long as the user changes their graphics settings to only use the discrete when playing high-end games.

A like your idea to use an MXM mobile gpu card. They're less powerful than desktop cards, but they're still decent and use less power/battery. The strong benefit to MXM is the chips are tiny compared to a typical discrete card (although they don't come with a cooler). Also, they have no output ports, so they must be designed to send the signal to the motherboards main HDMI/LVDS output port. However, I haven't found any Thin Mini-ITX with MXM ports.

You said you found an MXM to x4PCIe adapter? Do you have a link? Also, how will you get around the 25watt limit?

You said you were almost done with the battery charger? Can you elaborate on how you built it? If you need help getting the battery states to the OS, I could try to help you write a driver. I'm a programmer, but haven't attempted this particular task before, sounds fun

Your solar panel idea sounds interesting. Are you thinking that would be used when outside & away from an outlet? I'm not sure if I'd find it useful or not, I'll have to think about it....

Alienware has a product called "Amplifier"
http/www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/alienware-graphics-amplifier?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&sku=452-BBRG
It's an enclosure for a discrete desktop gpu. It has its own separate power supply. It has a proprietary cable to connect to the laptop. I wonder if they had to do this because it wasn't feasible to put a discrete desktop gpu into a laptop.

Thoughts?

 

[_MKKPT_]

Hi guys,


Really great convo. Some links you guys might be interested in.

PCI 3.0 4x should be fine, only ~5% performance loss due to lane bandwidth.
http/www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GTX_980_PCI-Express_Scaling/1.html

M4-ATX Intelligent 250 Watts Automotive ATX Power Supply (removing jumpers turns it into standard PSU). Can run from a battery source, has standard PSU connectors. Charging solution for the battery may be another problem.
http/www.mini-box.com.au/M4-ATX%20250w%20output.html

As far as the 25 watts limitation, if you had a Discrete GPU, it would use the 6-pin PCI-E connector for additional power. Could possibly use a 2 x 4 pin Molex to PCI-E adaptor. You would need a display port to lvds adaptor (see below).

Display Port to LVDS board (30pin, 4 pin molex for power)
http/www.ieiworld.com/product_groups/industrial/content.aspx?gid=09049535992720993533&cid=09049605030737850288&id=0D204620050737850288#.Vq15E7J96JA
http/www.ieiworld.com/files/file_pool/0E289000262283063557/file/DP-LVDS%20QIG%20V1.03_20140930.pdf

If you used a discrete graphics card, from some charts looks like a 960 or 970 would be good. 980 / r9 Nano maybe too close to the PSU limits.

http/www.tomshardware.com/charts/2015-vga-charts/24-Power-Consumption-Maximum,3687.html
http/www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-960,4038-8.html

Alternatively there is an MMX Supplier (below)
http/www.eurocom.com/ec/vgas(1)ec

Two issues with MXM Cards - the pricing is expensive vs desktop components, and the wattage required for 660M and higher performance cards is above the 25 watts the Thin Mini-ITX can supply. You would need to move to another larger motherboard type, with the standard maximum power output from PCI-e 3.0 is 75 watts. I suspect the higher wattage cards like the 880m which require 100 watts have motherboards with thicker copper wiring to support this. I've based this on watching Eurocom's support videos below, as they have no additional external power.
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=P53mSnY3voY&index=1&list=PLSpHQT9pSLflYr8KVJg8JjQ09QA9iHI7h

One good thing about the MXM Supplier is that you could use their cooling solutions for a stripped down Desktop GPU.

Edit: Sorry, I got confused with AUS vs US dollar, the MXM prices are not as expensive as I thought.

 

[Theasdfguy555]

I would still try it; Just because nobody's done it doesn't mean that it's a bad idea. Think about the first of everything: Nobody had made the aircraft until the Wright brothers stepped in. I'm not saying that it would be really easy, but for ambitious people like me, it is an excellent project.

Besides, most laptops are designed to not be capable of being modded easily, this could easily be a budget Novena.

 

[_MKKPT_]

Further thoughts -

Ideally I think the Xeon e3-1240L v5 would be the best LGA1151 processor
2.1 - 3.2Ghz, 8mb cache, 4 Core + Hyperthreading, 25W.
It was only released Q4 2015 so I don't think it is available quite yet, and it's an OEM product. Did find one place though - https/www.frontierpc.com/intel-xeon-quad-core-e3-1240l-v5-2.1ghz-server-processor-cm8066201935808-1031741776.html

Power-wise I think the board below would be nearly perfect
http/www.mini-box.com.au/OpenUPS%20Any%20input%20Any%20output%20Any%20Battery.html#
http/www.mini-box.com.au/documents/PWR-OpenUPS-manual.pdf

There are cheaper boards, but I can't find anything that supports the 19V required for the Motherboard and allows for different battery voltages.

From the OpenUPS manual:

"If input voltage is present (configurable by thresholds), openUPS will enable the proper
power path and energy will be flowing from input to output and, if necessary, battery
charging is started. Each cell is carefully monitored so that in case of an under-voltage
or over-voltage event proper actions are taken."


The Eurocom MXM link isn't working, I got to it from here:
http/www.anandtech.com/show/8969/eurocom-now-selling-gpu-upgrades-for-existing-laptops-with-gtx-980m-and-gtx-970m-options

 

[Socks_and_Sandals]

Hmm, i had an dell netbook with a 2,5w tdp cpu, old 15,4inch laptop. I connected big screen to small laptop(some diy lvds wiring), going to build super thin 15,4 inch tablet out of this, with custom battery for 10+ hours of battery life under load. It is not too hard to get started with gettho stuff, but you need some patience and soldering skills
Happy modding!

 

[gogeccc]

An average performance/power index of CPUs/GPUs/APUs has significantly increased since this thread started. Mini-ITX boards are more powerful and performance rich than ever (some even have integrated wifi modules and m-sata headers), making custom "laptop" build much more plausible.
Not to mention significantly lower price of SSDs and broader availability of cheap low profile heatsinks.
LCD driver electronics is relatively cheap on Ebay (~30$).
LiPo batteries are now cheap as hell and would allow satisfactory off-grid times for relatively low price (~3000 mAh 3S battery costs just under 15$ - combine 2 and you get nice solid 6000mAh). Battery control circuits can be bought for under 10$.
Also, Pico PSUs are a big game changers - they could fit wonderfully in the build that we are discussing here.

I am definitely building my "laptop" next year (currently I am money-dry as hell xD), I also have plans to make simple USB "smart" battery circuit that measures momentary voltage and current and a driver for it (does only approximation of battery state based on previous run-times, calculated as a function of voltage and current, corrected with battery discharge curve - voltage/remaining capacity) (this will be separate project because I expect lot of difficulties here, and btw it will really come in handy for me given that I am Software Engineering student xD).

Now about the hardware: currently, I would base my build on AMD FM2+ unlocked APU (midrange series because of power consumption - A8-7650K) - downclock the thing significantly when mobile - this can be easily but crudely done even without an unlocked multiplier - simply limit CPU power state in Windows Power Settings or use cpufreqd in Ubuntu (maybe even some other Linux distros, didn't test on anything but Ubuntu and Mint though). What is important is that with A8-7650K I can easily limit the TDP to under than 45W - and don't forget, this also includes the GPU.
I would pick an APU with relatively weak CPU unit because iGPU provides significantly higher performance than any competing low-to-mid-range Intel part, and it also simplifies the build significantly - no worries about bulky (and power hungry) PCIe card.

Finesses such as input over-voltage protection, over-current protection etc will be dealt with during the build process.

I am fairly confident that a "laptop" made from mediocre desktop parts could theoretically - max performance unleashed - surpass any laptop for a price of less than 1000$ - I can get an entire amd apu based build for around 400$ + 100$ for lcd related stuff + no more than 50$ for simple, bare-bones chassis that would be aesthetically improved over time + 50$ for battery related stuff (without fancy usb stuff xD) + 100$ for misc stuff (speakers, hd audio headers, leds, buttons, voltage regulators, various protection circuitry) + 50$ for converted laptop keyboard and touchpad + 50$ for stuff that I forgot = 800$.
Laptops are sh*t these days with all the fuc*ing Bay Trail chips in them - you can't buy a decent laptop for under the calculated value of 800$, and even that decent laptop will hardly compete with overall performance of my planned build, let aside the priceless customizability that I lose if I buy the laptop.

And I will definitely document my build process, the Internet really needs more custom "laptop" builds.

 

[gogeccc]

And what I meant by "simple, bare-bones chassis that would be aesthetically improved over time" is precisely this (albeit I would get rid of all those holes and protect the cables a lot more, and use the proper hinges):
http/www.extremetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/novena_full-e1389122192543.jpg

 

[jago25_98]

A few comments regards some observations on how I find myself using a laptop:
1) I don't use the battery except to move power outlet... Because what's the point of even using battery if you're gonna be searching for a power outlet in a couple of hours anyway.. .

2) I don't use the laptop keyboard anyway so that's wasted space.... I carry a proper external wireless and its a lot more comfortable

3) I don't use the toochpad anyway either

4) I prefer a tablet or something with a raised screen anyway... But a tablet can't upgrade ram or anything

5) Matt screen would be good. As would hardware kill switch and choose the hardware.

All these things make a good case for a build like this. The piTop is a great project but too weak

 

[ladd1989]

Ah, the DIY laptop. It's as elusive as it is enticing. I realize the DIY laptop topic has been thrown around quite a few times on this forum, but all those threads seemed to be centered around laptop kits that offer few choices in terms of hardware and are generally more expensive than their pre-made counterparts. My question is whether building a DIY laptop, made completely from scratch (including the case), is possible. Being that I have not seen all that much information on made-from-scratch laptops, I have assumed that it is either far too difficult or impossible. Even if it was difficult, I would have expected that some experienced DIYer would have taken on the feat irregardless of the challenge. After all, more spectacular projects have been accomplished at the hands of a hobbyist. I seems to me that one could build a laptop using a mini itx motherboard, a SSD (to avoid the complexity of protecting a hard drive), a desktop cpu down clocked and down volted to reduce heat, a low profile cpu cooler to save space, low profile ram to save even more space, a repurposed laptop keyboard, a laptop screen of your choice, and some sort of homemade case or repurposed case to hold the components. Likely, the case would have to be made from scratch because a repurposed laptop case would have to be heavily modified in order to properly cool generic desktop parts that were not custom designed for a laptop case's thermals as are OEM laptop components.

I have built quite a few desktops and realize that constructing a laptop from scratch is in a whole other ballpark in terms of difficulty, more akin to constructing a 3D printer using aduino boards. So, why hasn't this been done before and, if it has, why isn't it done more often?

Well even though this thread has been dead for over 5 years i am currently building a DIY gaming laptop from spare used alienware M18x r2 motherboard and water cooling the CF M290X's and an OC i7-3940xm. In fact if all the 3d printing goes well i will have made the laptop 1 cm thinner than the original.

 

[jsmithepa]

Somebody has got to post some pictures of these mystical DIY laptops, because if they exist purely in the sense that you built one and it boots but you really don't use it day-to-day... what's the point?